About myIDP

The Individual Development Plan (IDP) concept is commonly used in industry to help employees define and pursue their career goals. In 2003, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) proposed an IDP framework for postdoctoral fellows in the sciences. Expanding on that framework, myIDP is a unique, web-based career-planning tool tailored to meet the needs of PhD students and postdocs in the sciences. We hope you find this tool useful, and welcome feedback about your experience.

About the Authors

Cynthia Fuhrmann, PhD recently transitioned from UCSF to the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she is Assistant Dean for Career & Professional Development in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She has years of experience directing programs in professional skills training and career preparation for doctoral students and postdocs in the sciences, and teaches workshops nationally on these topics. A former biochemist herself, her research interests now focus on improving the career development of scientists.

Jennifer Hobin, PhD is the Director of Science Policy at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). She is responsible for developing FASEB’s policy statements related to scientific training and career development and the research workforce. She has delivered numerous presentations and organized workshops for graduate students and postdocs on science policy careers and career and professional development topics.

Bill Lindstaedt serves as Director of the Office of Career and Professional Development at UCSF. Since 2001, his career counseling practice has focused exclusively on clients who are PhD-level life scientists. He has developed particular expertise working with life scientists as they move from academic research positions toward careers in the biotech industry and other non-academic paths. &nbsp

Philip Clifford, PhD is Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor of Anesthesiology and Physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He directs the Office of Postdoctoral Education at the Medical College of Wisconsin and is an outspoken advocate for professional development for postdoctoral scholars and a strong proponent of career planning for Ph.D. scientists. &nbsp

Privacy Policy

Any information you enter into the myIDP website is considered personal and will be kept strictly confidential.
Anonymized data may be analyzed for the purpose of studying career planning and/or improving the site; data would only be published in aggregate to ensure confidentiality.
For more information about AAAS's privacy policy, please click here.